Please
by Cordria
Summary: Three stories revolving around the word 'Please'.
1. Bubbles

_1/4/07 - Attention: This chapter has been more-or-less completely rewritten / tweaked since I first published it. You are welcome to reread it. Enjoy! _

_When only one word counts._

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**Please...**  
A Danny Phantom FanFiction by Cordria

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Bubbles

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Danny!" Jack bellowed as Danny sat on the bottom step of the basement stairs. He had long since decided it was safer to sit on the stairs than wander into the medieval torture chamber his parents called their workplace. "Look at our latest invention!"

Maddie beamed, patting the four-foot-high, glowing bubble maternally. It was carefully placed in the lab about half way between the interdimensional portal and the Fenton Stockades. "It's perfect for catching ghosts."

"It's _intelligent_." Jack added.

"Intelligent?" Danny wondered.

"Yup!" Jack grinned, "It learns as the ghost tries to escape. It foils all of their attempts automatically."

Maddie nodded. "It's going to give us all sorts of information. This machine will literally _create_ new weapons and defensive tactics for us. It may come up with devices that no human would ever have thought up. Better ones, more efficient ones."

"Even better," Jack added, "this machine keys in to a ghost's biggest secret – we figure it'll usually be what their weakness is – and makes it tell us their secrets!"

Danny shivered. That wouldn't be fun to get caught in. Yet another invention to put on the "must avoid" list. "So…" he hesitated, "what if a ghost got in there that you wanted to get out?"

"Don't be silly, sweetie," Maddie answered. "Why would we want to get a ghost out?"

"Does it hurt the ghost?" Danny watched his father carefully plugging in a few more cables.

"Jack, dear, don't forget to unplug the generator before you wire in that new capacitor." She turned to Danny and pulled her blue hood off. She walked over to him and sat down on the seat next to him. "Danny, what's bringing on all the questions?"

"Huh?"

She smiled. "Sweetie, don't worry about the ghosts. They can't feel." She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him a bit. "Ghosts don't have emotions. They are just gobs of energy."

_She thinks that I have a moral problem with the ghosts being in that torture cell. _Danny was silent. _That's completely wrong. _

Danny sighed. "It's nothing, Mom."

She watched him for a second. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right sweetie? _Anything?_"

Danny blinked at her blankly. "Yeah…"

Suddenly Jack yelped, a sliver of smoke rising up from the computer tied to the glowing bubble. Maddie giggled slightly. She leaned in close and whispered, "Bet you dinner dishes that he forgot to unplug the generator."

Danny laughed. "No deal. It's Jazz's turn to do the dishes. I'll let her keep them."

Maddie grinned and stood up. "Jack, unplug the generator and I'll get the spare capacitor."

Jack poked his head up over the console. "There's the reason why I love you," he said. "You know me so well."

Danny rolled his eyes. "So… after you get that thing in, it's done?"

"Yup!" Jack said happily. "Almost done. This will get us on the cover of Ghost Hunters Monthly for sure."

"For sure," Danny muttered under his breath. He watched in silence as his parents put together the last few pieces of a device that could kill him. His gaze traveled around the lab. _Strike that thought. They are finishing _another_ device that could kill me._

"It's done!" Maddie shrieked excitedly. "JAZZ!"

"She's not here," Danny answered. He watched his parents' faces fall slightly. "She went to the library to some research or something."

"Oh…" his father rubbed his hands against his orange hazmat, "well, at least you're here to witness history in the making!"

"Exactly," Maddie agreed. "Jack, plug it in."

Danny leaned forwards slightly as Jack plugged the console in. A small screen flickered in to life and the small mass of machinery at the top of the bubble whirred slightly. Danny wrinkled his eyebrows slightly. _That was it?_

His parents raced over to the computer and started pressing buttons, murmuring softly under their breath. Danny waited quietly, tapping his fingers against his knee. _Is it working?_

He watched them carefully fine-tuning their machine. Minutes passed. _Does it work?_ He tapped his foot loudly against the bottom step, half hoping to get their attention. He didn't want to actually ask – that would get him stuck in a three hour conversation on how it works and what it'll do.

Maddie strode over to the bubble and fiddled with some of the bits for a moment before heading back over to the console to whisper with Jack some more. _This is killing me_, Danny thought sarcastically. _Does it actually work?_

He cleared his thought. Nothing. He sighed loudly. Nothing. Finally, he decided to risk asking. "So? Does it work?"

Nothing.

Danny gritted his teeth. _This leaves only one option_. He pushed himself to his feet and started off across the room. Keeping carefully away from the cabinet that held the ghost detection devices and steering clear of the table full of who-knows-what, Danny made his way over to the glowing bubble.

An odd beeping filled the air as he got closer. Danny hesitated when his parents stiffened. "Um… Mom?"

Maddie turned around and smiled brilliantly. "Danny! Do you hear that?"

"The beeping?"

"Yes! That's the ghost tracker built into the Fenton Bubble." Her eyes seemed to shine with delight. "There's a ghost around."

He could feel his face going pale. "This thing can find ghosts on its own?"

Jack nodded. "And capture them too! I think…" He turned back to the computer and pushed a few keys.

"Great," Danny whispered. "I'm going to go upstairs for awhile." _And wait for Jazz to come home and sabotage this thing… _

He was about to turn around and leave, but the computer suddenly stopped beeping. The silver machine above the bubble whirred slightly, a long, snake-like appendage growing out of its mass and coiling into a circle. Danny watched it with apprehension. Maddie and Jack watched it with growing excitement.

Suddenly, the silver appendage raced through the air. It wrapped around Danny's wrist before he had time to react and yanked him off of his feet. Stumbling to his knees, the machine began to reel him in slowly and surely. "Mom!" he called.

"Hold on, sweetie – we'll stop it." Maddie was tapping away furiously at the computer.

Danny was pulled through the glowing bubble and released. He kept on his knees – the bubble was only four feet tall and not big enough for him to stand up in. _Wonderful._

"Just relax, Danny," Jack called. "This thing can't hurt you."

Danny held perfectly still, his eyes crammed shut. _Please, please, please, please, please…_

Against his prayers, dozens of metallic ropes dropped out of the blob of machinery over his head and twitched to life, snaking forwards and wrapping around his arms and legs. Danny started to struggle against the cords, trying to get himself free.

"Danny, stop struggling."

"Yeah, right!" Danny snapped, his struggling taking itself up a notch as a rope coiled around his torso.

"You'll be fine."

Just as the words left Jack's mouth, the machine zapped Danny with electricity. Danny screamed, high and wild, as energy coursed through him, snapping his head back and making his hair sizzle.

"Danny!" Maddie yelled, leaving the computer and racing to her son's side. "Jack!"

"How…" Jack stared at the bubble, eyes wide. "Why…."

"Stop it!" Maddie ordered.

Jack started to quickly press buttons on the machine, and Maddie pressed her hands against the glowing bubble. She gazed into her son's eyes.

"Ectosignature detected," the machine pronounced happily. The electricity raging through Danny's body ceased. Danny slumped to the ground, or as far as he could while still tangled in the ropes, and gasped for air. "Analyzing…" Maddie left his side to stare at the screen with Jack in disbelief. "Ectosignature analyzed. Compensating… complete. Refining…"

Danny brought his head up to stare at his parents. "What does that mean?" he panted, his voice breaking.

"The machine…" Maddie hesitated. "If you were a ghost…" she hesitated again. The machine is able to set itself into specific frequency of the ghost we capture. That increases the level of pain…" She tapped the display, puzzled.

"Why would it find an ectosignature for you?" Jack wondered, shaking his head.

"Get me out," Danny whispered, not having heard anything since the _increases the level of pain_ part. "Get me out, NOW!"

It was seconds later when the electricity flowed through him again. Set into the correct frequency, this time it didn't just hurt, it actually burned through his every molecule. Danny could feel his body fizzling and shrieking. He wasn't even sure if he was screaming – his ears were ringing and his throat was raw from the electricity flowing through him.

Suddenly, it stopped. "Refining complete," the machine proclaimed. "Secret keyed into system. Beginning phase one."

As the bonds released him, a whirling saw blade descended from the machine. It hung in the middle of the bubble above his head, and then suddenly started to move towards Danny.

"It's keyed in on a secret. Why would it think you have a secret?" Jack's forehead wrinkled as he stared at the screen. "It shouldn't be able to do that."

Maddie was anxiously tapping buttons. "Jack, we need to get him out of there, not ask questions."

"It can't hurt him, Maddie. It only hurts ghosts."

"Dad!" Danny called, pressing himself up against the floor of the bubble.

"Jack, get him out!" Maddie glared at him.

"I'm trying to turn it off, Mads. Hold on."

The saw plunged ever closer to him. Danny gulped, his eyes wide. The very deadly-looking saw was only a two feet away from him. _I need to make it stop!_ Danny screamed in his head. _It's looking for secrets… _

"I'm the one who's always stealing your inventions!" Danny blurted, his face turned away from the descending saw blade. Incredibly, the saw hesitated. Danny opened his eyes, hopefully. Then, with a whir, it started up again, steadily coming closer.

"It's keying in an even bigger secret. But it shouldn't be able to. You're not a ghost." Jack frowned at his screen.

"Jack!" Maddie yelped, pushing him out of the way. "Get our son out of there!" She began to tap buttons frantically.

"It _can't_ hurt him," Jack snapped back, but reached out to start working on the computer again.

Danny wracked his brain. "I'm the one that's always breaking the Ghost Gabber when you get it fixed." The saw stopped again.

"What?" Jack looked up from beside Maddie. "Why would you break that?"

"Jack!" Maddie snapped.

The saw whirred and snaked closer.

Danny pressed himself against the floor. There was no escape. "I sneak out at night, after curfew," he tried, but the saw wouldn't take that. It wanted bigger secrets.

The saw was only a foot from his face. Then a half-foot away. Maddie cried out, grabbing a heavy tool from her tool box and running towards the bubble, thinking to break into it.

The saw whirred closer. Inches. Half an inch. Quarter of an inch. The saw was a hair from touching him when Danny screamed. "I died in that lab accident!"

The saw stopped dead. It retreated back to the center of the bubble, hanging there, scanning him.

"Danny?" his mother whispered. She had come to a stop halfway across the lab.

Danny sobbed, "Please get me out. We can talk about it later. Please get me out."

"Why…" Jack trailed off, staring helplessly at his son.

"I didn't want to tell you. Please." The saw whirred back to life, quickly snaking towards him. Danny twisted his head around, "What the…" He collected a gob of ecto-energy in his fingers, forming it into a powerful blast. "Stupid machine! What more do you want!" he shrieked, slamming the blast into the saw, carrying with it all of his fear and hatred, shattering it into a million pieces. Then, he turned around to his parents, who had both become very pale.

"Please get me out!" Danny pleaded, his hand pressed against the glass, a glistening tear leaving a trail on his cheek. "Please."

Maddie and Jack stared at their son, tools falling out of nerveless fingers. "That's why everything goes off around you…"

"Please…"

Behind him, another tool – this one able to withstand ecto-blasts – descended from the ceiling. "Beginning phase two," the computer purred.

Maddie and Jack stood shock still. Neither made a move.

"Please…"

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I do not own Danny Phantom. _

_It's up to you whether or not his parents rescue him. I'll never tell if they're supposed to. (smiles evilly) Welcome to my life._

_I've had a frustrating day. This was a good stress reliever. _

_I need to stop writing depressing stories. It's making me wonder about my sanity._

_Review please, and totally enjoy!_

_Thanks._


	2. Shapes

_I've decided that getting to 60 reviews means this story deserves something extra. Something kind of like I did for Final Exam. But… _

_This is not the next part of the first chapter. That story, as I originally promised and I will continue to stick to, is a one-shot. It is as complete as it ever will be. That having been said, this is not the "sequel" to that chapter or any other odd way you could think up for this to be some sort of continuation of that first chapter. That story is done. It will not be continued. It is finished. _

_This is a completely new story. It has nothing to do with the first chapter in any way, shape, or form – except it shares a title and a common theme. This story is a new take on the title, inspired by an odd dream I had about a week ago. I'm pretty sure it's never been done before… _

_On that note… I do need to say that I found out that my previous chapter shared a lot in common with another story on FanFiction – entitled "I'm Still Here" by iloveJesusJohnnyandDanny (which is a very good story and you should go read it) – and I was extremely weirded out by the commonalities… even though neither of us had read the other's story… so I tweaked my first chapter a bit. I didn't really like the way it flowed anyway and that gave me the excuse to go and rewrite it and fix a few of the holes that I was especially displeased with. I have loaded the newer version of the first chapter if you want reread it. _

_And thus I conclude the introductory author's notes – which I despise. I don't like notes at the beginning of stories. But it was necessary this time. Enjoy. __

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**Please…**  
A Danny Phantom FanFiction by Cordria

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Shapes

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Maddie Fenton stared through the sights of her ectogun in disbelief. The ghost-boy was sailing slowly through the air, reveling in the chaos and panic he was causing. She bit her lower lip as she lined up her shot. She had _almost_ believed the boy. A part of her heart had given in and thought that he had been telling the truth – that he was good. Phantom was different from other ghosts. 

They had talked a few weeks ago, her and Phantom. She had captured him in a net and asked him two hundred and eleven questions before letting him go. They have had a sort of pact since then; a peace between two foes. They exchanged information. He had even stopped down in the lab a few times to chat since that day. They had almost been friends.

Her eyes hardened. She had obviously been wrong in think that he was anything other than a normal ghost. She centered the cross hairs on the ghost's form. She still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about Phantom's behavior, however. "Be gone spectral spook," she said as she pulled the trigger.

A sharp blast of green energy shot out of the barrel of her ectogun and flashed through the darkening sky. The ghost jerked up at the last second, but it was too late. The blaze of light slammed into his faintly-glowing ectoplasm and exploded. The ghost let out a yelp of pain and surprise before falling to the earth.

Maddie strode up to the quivering ghost without her usual smile. She examined the ghost-boy carefully, her brow furrowing in confusion. His matted hair was almost shoulder length, his black jumpsuit missing the distinctive emblem in the front. The ghost slid slowly along the street towards the alley, clutching at his chest with his arms, trying to get away. He was silent – the usual taunts and sarcastic comments missing from his attitude.

When she was a few feet away, she once again raised her gun and pointed it at the ghost. "Phantom?" she asked, not sure. He looked up at her, red eyes blazing with hatred, and snarled.

Point-blank, she shot him again. The ghost smashed into the wall of a building and oozed slightly when he dropped to the ground. He fizzled a bit, his edges blurring into oblivion for less than a heartbeat. He raised his head. Red eyes stared at her in a mixture of agony and rage. Suddenly, one of his arms snaked out of his huddled form and wrapped around her wrist. Maddie gasped. Her finger tightened convulsively on the trigger of her ectogun. Another blast razed the ghost to the ground, his body seeming to disintegrate completely in a flash of strange white light that left another huddled form behind.

Jazz. Maddie dropped her ectogun in surprise. "Sweetie!" she cried, taking a step forwards.

"Mother," Jazz whispered. Her head was lowered down to the ground, her matted, red hair dangling in front of her face. "Please, help me," she moaned.

Maddie strode up to her daughter's side. "It's okay, sweetie," Maddie crooned softly, "the ghost is gone."

"Is he?" Jazz snarled suddenly. Her head came up, her eyes flaring red. She struck out with her hands and raked her long fingernails across Maddie's face.

Jumping up, Maddie backed quickly away. "Fight it, darling. The ghost can't control you if you don't want it to."

"I hate you!" Jazz screamed, staggering to her feet and keeping her bloody eyes locked on Maddie. "I'll kill you!" Jazz leapt into the air towards Maddie, her mouth opening to reveal inch-long fangs and her fingernails growing into claws.

Maddie stared in shock at the apparition of her daughter. At the last second, she ducked, her daughter ramming into the wall behind her. She twirled around just in time to see Jazz lying on the ground, her neck bent at an unnatural angle, dissolve into nothing.

"It wasn't real," Maddie whispered into the silence after a few seconds. She touched a trembling hand to her cheek and wiped away a stray tear. "It wasn't real."

She walked over to her ectogun, stooping momentarily to grab it, and whispered it one more time. "It wasn't real." She just had the gun in her hands, checking to make sure it was still working, when the ghost-boy tossed a ball of glowing red ectoplasm in her direction.

Maddie spun towards the ghost, raising the gun again. She took a few pot-shots, the gun on a lower setting than usual, giving her time to think.

_That wasn't Jazz._

She twisted her finger, spiking the amount of energy in the gun's blast. The next shot would have taken out the ghost if it had hit. She glared through the sight. This ghost-boy's costume was grey and silver, his hair a murky white.

_That wasn't Jazz, and that wasn't Phantom. _

This shot grazed the ghost-boy, causing him spin across the sky out of control. Maddie snarled.

_That wasn't Phantom. This one isn't EITHER!_

Her last shot blazed through the sky and nailed the white-haired ghost dead on. The ghost streaked to the ground, forming a small crater where his mass of ectoplasm hit the ground. She ran up to the hole, aiming her ectogun down into the hole.

The ghost looked up at her with the same red eyes as the previous ghost. He snarled angrily, opening his wide mouth into a ferocious parody of a smile. Maddie carefully lined her shot up. She blasted the ghost right between his eyes.

He screeched in pain, falling against the side of the crater. A ring of blazingly white light appeared around his waist, separating into two rings that traveled up and down his body, leaving her distinctively dressed husband behind. Jack pushed against the wall with trembling arms.

"Jack?" Maddie whispered, barely hearing the ectogun beep softly that it was low on power. _Is it really?_

"Maddie, help me." Jack coughed and collapsed into the bottom of the pit. His eyes were closed tightly in pain. "The ghost… please…"

"Jack, honey, look at me." Her legs twitched. It took all of her heart and soul to not jump down into the pit with the love of her life. "You need to open your eyes."

"Please…" the big man pleaded. "It hurts. Please, Mads…"

She nodded finally and slid down into the hole. Maddie touched her husband's shoulder and knelt down by his side. "It'll be alright, Jack."

"Yes, it will," Jack snickered, opening his eyes. Their manic red light lit up the twilight, illuminating the crazed sneer that had twisted his face. "I'll kill…" he blinked in surprise at something that was hovering just above her shoulder.

Maddie brought the butt of her raised ectogun down hard against Jack's temple. She sighed as the form of her husband turned into a freezing mist, leaving her all alone in the dark. "Fool me once," she whispered and climbed out of the hole.

She paced down the dark street, her eyes alert for another ghost. The scanner had shown that three ghosts had escaped the ghost zone and were taking refuge in this area of town. Two down, one to go.

"MOM!" The shriek echoed eerily down the abandoned street. Maddie's head jerked up to see her daughter racing towards her. Just behind Jazz, a third ghost-boy floated, sending potshots raining down onto the street around her. This ghost-boy was the closest yet to the original, black and silver jumpsuit topped with disarrayed white hair. The only sign that this was another copy was that red energy surrounded the ghost rather than the normal green.

Maddie raised her ectogun. It chirped softly, low on energy. She carefully lined up the shot. She had no room for error. Bracing herself slightly, she pulled the trigger.

The ghost took the blast head-on, flopping lifelessly to the ground. Almost instantly, two rings of light appeared around his middle and separated, leaving a stunned-looking Danny behind.

Maddie strode quickly up to her son, centering the barrel of her gun on his forehead. "Fool me twice," she hissed sourly. But she didn't pull the trigger. Not yet.

Danny was trembling on the ground. "Open your eyes," Maddie ordered, her ectogun not wavering for a second.

"The ghost," Danny panted, his messy hair covering his eyes, "it's a shapeshifter."

"I know," Maddie snapped. "Look at me."

"Not me," he said softly. "Jazz."

Maddie's eyes widened as she twisted her head around to look at Jazz. The red-haired girl was standing slightly behind her, shaking her head. "Mom!" she said, pointing. "The ghost! Behind you!"

Danny pushed himself to his feet, red eyes blazing in his teenage face. His claws slid out of his hands as he crouched in a basic martial arts stance. A demented grin crossed his face. "I will _kill_ you," he laughed. "You won't kill me! I'm your son."

He pushed off from the ground, snaking in under her lax guard. He slashed his claws against her stomach. Maddie backpedaled, clutching her bleeding abdomen. Danny grinned. "I'll kill you first," he whispered, "then I'll kill Jazz. Then the rest of your family." He came forwards again, low to the ground, his bloody eyes focused on hers.

Maddie kicked out at the last second, her foot snapping Danny sharply in the chin. The boy tumbled backwards, the red light dying out of his eyes. He dissolved before he had even hit the ground. She blinked tears out of her eyes as her mind pictured her little boy flying through the air. But it wasn't really her Danny – it had been a ghost.

"That's it," she sighed. Smiling, Maddie turned around to Jazz. "They're…" She trailed off, staring in despair at her oldest child. "Jazz?"

Jazz smiled at her. Fangs sticking out of her mouth, claws clicking softly on the ground as the girl crouched, ready to attack, blood-red eyes focused on Maddie. Jazz spoke, "What's wrong, Mom? I'm your daughter. Don't you trust me?"

Maddie leveled her gun. It only had two shots left. "You are not my daughter. How many more ghosts are there out tonight?"

Jazz laughed. "Would you believe me if I told you I was the last one?"

Maddie hesitated, then shook her head.

"Then I'm the only one left." Jazz chuckled mirthlessly. "Come on, Mom. Come and play with me." Jazz sprang out of her crouch.

Maddie ducked to the left, avoiding the first lunge. Jazz's claws scraped against the pavement as she landed and spun around. Before she had time to jump again, Maddie grabbed the ectostaff off of her belt and activated it. Twin beams of ectoplasm sprung into life around the little cylinder to form a four-foot long staff. Maddie fell into a ready stance and waited. "Where is my real daughter?"

"As if you'd believe me," Jazz pouted. "Maybe you'd rather believe your son? He's been a good host." Suddenly, that ring of light appeared around Jazz's waist and separated, leaving her son behind. "Mom?" Danny asked, his red eyes flickering to blue. "What's going on?"

"Danny?" Maddie held perfectly still, staring at her son. There was nothing out of place – he was accurate from the disheveled black hair and blue eyes down to the hole in his right shoe. "Is it really you?"

Danny glanced around, his blue eyes fearful. "Where'd the ghost go? The one that looked like Jazz? She attacked me. I don't remember…"

"She possessed you, Danny," Maddie smiled, "and I think she's still in there. But we'll get her out. I promise." She wanted to believe this one like nothing else. She wanted it to truly be her son.

"She's still in me?" Danny's eyes widened and his mouth dropped. "But…" He stopped. "I can feel her," he whispered. "She's fighting. She wants back out." His eyes flashed bloody red for a heartbeat before fading back to blue. "What do I do? Mom…"

"Danny," she said, "fight her." She stepped closer, lowering her gun. "You can do it, sweetie."

Danny sank to the ground, clutching his stomach. "It hurts, Mom. Help me, please?"

Maddie dropped down next to him, dropping her ectostaff, and pulled him into a hug, giving in. This really was Danny, it had to be. "Fight her, Danny. No ghost can win."

"Or…" Danny whispered, he was silent for a second. Then Maddie yelped as claws dug into her arm. Danny looked up and pierced her with his blue gaze. He smiled happily. "Or I could just kill you. That would be nice." The claws dug in deeper and fangs appeared in his mouth.

Maddie brought her other hand up in loose fist and punched Danny in the face, fighting back a sob of dispair. The claws let go just long enough for her to scramble to her feet and step away. "Ghost," she spat, her heart breaking in two.

"Duh," Danny smiled. He pushed himself into a back-flip that left him standing in a simple martial-arts style stance. "_Your_ kids are home safe where you left them. Your whole family is there. Watching some TV show with a big, spinning wheel. I should know – I was just there, stealing enough DNA to copy their forms. I can do Jack too… want to see?"

"Ghost," she scowled. Maddie raised her ectogun. _Two more shots_… _something will pay for this. _

"Can you shoot me? Can you shoot your own son?" Danny took three quick steps forward, his blue eyes blazing insanely. "No, huh? Well then." He flipped out a kick to her side.

Maddie dodged the kick with a sharp twist of her body, bringing her in close enough to get an elbow into his chest. Danny exhaled sharply, curling up and sinking slightly to the ground. Maddie chopped downwards right above his shoulder blades with tears stinging her eyes.

Danny fell to the ground. He rolled over onto his back, slowly starting to dissolve. Maddie dropped to her knees beside him. She gazed at the twisted visage of her son – her own son – dying because of her. It didn't matter than this wasn't really Danny. Her heart broke watching him die.

His maniacal eyes lit up for a second. "Good luck dodging my brother, Mom," he whispered. Danny vanished into a glowing red mist.

"What?" Maddie followed his gaze, glancing upwards, blinking tears out of her eyes. Yet _another_ ghost-boy was flying through the sky. She snarled wordlessly, raising her gun. _Enough of this. I will not watch my son die again. _

The ghost pulled up sharply, his green eyes widening. "What's going on, Mo… Maddie?"

"Enough!" she snapped. Her gun whined as it sent a blast of green light punching through the air. The ghost-boy smashed into the building and fell to the ground. Maddie picked up her staff dropped and followed the fallen ghost. She whirled the staff once and slammed it down on the ghost's back.

As expected, two rings of light appeared around his waist, separating to leave an image of her son behind.

"Enough of this!" She leveled her gun at the two blue eyes in that face, marveling at how good the copies had gotten. This copy even managed to pull off the scared look.

"M-m-mom?" the ghost stammered. "What…"

"No more copies of my family!" she snarled. "I've had enough."

"Please, Mom," he whispered. "It's really me. Please… just let me explain…"

"No! No more lies. No more!" The gun whirred as it pulled the last of its energy out of the depleted batteries. There was just enough energy left to get rid of this ghost for good.

"Please…"

"No," she hissed. Green light bathed the figure as the blast readied itself.

"Please…"

Her finger drifted over to the trigger. She watched the ghost's eyes widen in terror. A look of disbelief crossed his face. This ghost was good. But not good enough.

"Please…"

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_So. Was it really Danny at the end? Did she pull the trigger? Did he die? _

_There is only one question I can answer: Will I tell you? Nope! Bwa-hahahah! _

_Review for me, please! If I get lots of reviews, I may stick up the third installment of "Please…" for your enjoyment. Might, maybe, someday. You know. _

_And don't forget – this is another oneshot. It's done. Caput. Over. Finíto. _

_Thanks for reading. _

_--Cori_


	3. Aramanthia's Pier

_(Stares at screen in wonder) Who WROTE this?? Crap… I'm NOT reading this. Not in a million years. Do not read things written by my alter-ego. They'll drive you nuts. _

_Twisted Oneshot based off of a story I wrote… awhile ago. Thus, the beginning has allusions to the part of the story you (obviously) won't have read. But it's not important, and it's too confusing to explain, so just live with it._

_Remember, this has NOTHING to do with the first two stories. It is a completely different story. Just has a common title and a common theme. You should know what it is by this point...__

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**Please…  
**A Danny Phantom FanFiction by Cordria

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Aramanthia's Pier

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In the weeks that had passed since that incident with Walker, Maddie and Phantom had settled into an uneasy truce. The huntress had agreed not to shoot him on sight and Phantom had agreed to leave her, for the most part, alone. Maddie had been trying to keep that particular ghost out of her mind lately. Thinking about him gave her a splitting headache. Every bit of information she had collected so far pointed to the fact that Phantom was not a… normal ghost. Phantom was an enigma. A deviation. He threw off almost every one of her charts and theories about ghosts. 

The most annoying part was he seemed to know that his oddness was causing her headaches and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it.

Even though Phantom had agreed to stay away from the lab, one particular Saturday evening found him there, floating a few inches above the floor. Maddie stared into his spectral eyes, not quite believing what the ghost was saying. It was impossible. He would never ask for that…

Yet he was. He was almost on his knees, begging for that one thing that tossed the rest of Maddie's beliefs about ghosts out the window. His green eyes pleaded with her, full of fear and pain and… defeat? The sixteen-year-old ghost's normal aura of confident power was gone, replaced by the distinct feeling of pure terror and the need for…

Help.

"Please," Phantom begged. "You need to help me."

"Give me one good reason to," Maddie replied, turning away from the hovering teenager. She walked across the lab to pick up one of her latest inventions. She studied it, still slightly off balance due to the fact that Phantom had just blown her only remaining ghost theory out of the water. _Ghosts can ask for help? _Opening the small electrical compartment on the side, she tried to ignore the chill breeze wafting off of her spectral guest.

"My friend will die," he whispered.

Her head twisted around to gaze at the ghost. "Ghost's don't die," she said shortly, her fingers clenching tightly around the invention. She could see where this was going and she didn't like it.

"She's not a ghost," Phantom retorted.

Maddie nodded. That had been the answer she was expecting. "Why me?"

The ghost's body tensed for a second, his eyes flickering to the ground and back up. "Why not?" he asked, trying desperately to regain his usual self-assured tone.

"You can't ask your_ friends_?" Maddie twisted the word at the end. She knew that Phantom had human friends as well as ghost friends, a fact that always threw her for a loop. What humans would possibly want to be around a ghost?

"All the ones I trust either _can't_ help or _won't _help." The ghost's face lost all of its hastily built-up confidence, eyes probing deep into hers. "Please, Maddie."

"What would we need to do?" When the ghost's eyes lit up in delight, she hastily added, "If I decide to come along."

Biting his lip, the ghost dropped down to the floor. "She was kidnapped by…" he hesitated, "…by the Wisconsin ghost and taken to a place in the ghost zone called Aramanthia's Pier." He looked up at her, unasked question glittering in his eyes.

Maddie shook her head. She'd never heard of it.

"It's a place at the very edge of the Ghost Zone. I've been there before… with my friends. Once." Phantom wrung his hands together, his eyes filling with remembered pain. "The stuff beyond the edge of the Ghost Zone is endless. It's kind of like an ocean of ectoplasm – except none of it has a form or a purpose. It's… waiting. Aramanthia's Pier is the only was to get at all that power. The pier is the only thing that goes past the barrier."

"Barrier?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It was designed to keep the ghosts in the Ghost Zone. The barrier magnifies your greatest fear and uses it against you. Giving into your fears destroys you, and you get torn apart. Ghosts can't do anything against their fears." He was silent for a moment. "Humans are much better at it."

"So it's a good thing you are half-human, right?" Maddie crossed her arms. _And this is where he denies it. Again. _

Phantom glanced at her, his green eyes shining oddly. Slowly he shook his head. "I'm not half-human," he said slowly, carefully. "That ghost in Walker's cell… he was lying."

Maddie rolled her eyes. _Phantom completely trounced that poor ghost that had let it slip that Phantom was… how had he put it?_ _Half-human vermin_. "Fine," she sighed. _The main reason I… trust… him at all is that he's half-human. _

"I can get through," Phantom insisted, "but it's hard. Sa… my friend figured out how to get past the barrier last time we were here. She figured that we couldn't fight our own fears… but we'd be able to fight each other's. So we came up with a plan."

"You switched fears?" she asked, following his line of thought.

Phantom nodded. "We switched fears. That's why I want to take you along. I need someone to switch fears with." He eyes glistened. "I can't get through by myself."

Maddie was silent, staring at the forgotten invention still in her hand. "Why do you want to take _me_ though? I'll see your greatest fears."

He winced, but answered after a moment. "I trust you, that's why."

She gazed at him. Phantom's shoulders were rounded, his head bowed. Normally neon eyes were dull and full of fear. Even when all the chips were against him, she had never seen the ghost so broken and desperate. Every bit of his cocky confidence was gone. _He really needs my help. _"When do we need to go?"

Phantom smiled slightly at her, his eyes glowing in relief. "Now. When the tide comes in, Aramanthia's Pier gets swamped. Anybody that's on it will get dragged into the ocean and die."

"When does the tide come in?"

Silence.

Maddie shivered. "That's soon?"

Phantom just grabbed her arm and yanked her into the ghost zone.

* * *

Maddie stumbled away from Phantom as soon as he dropped her onto the ground beside the pier. She narrowed her eyes and rubbed at her shoulder. _Idiot ghost-boy_, she sighed, _he_ _almost yanked my arm out of its socket._

Opening her mouth to talk, she hesitated. Phantom was staring past her, his eyes glowing fiercely. Maddie twisted around and stopped dead. For the first time, she saw Aramanthia's Pier.

Glittering just a few feet from her toes was the barrier the ghost had mentioned. It curved around into oblivion – a seamless, translucent wall separating the Ghost Zone from… nothing. A deep, midnight green glowed everywhere, darkly illuminating the huge expanse of the void. Appearing out of the emptiness, gloomy ectoplasm washed against Aramanthia's Pier like giant ocean waves.

The pier itself was nothing more than a simple-looking wooden dock that extended about a hundred feet into the nothingness. At the very end of the wharf was a small, blue-striped lighthouse. The lighthouse's greenish light shone through the darkness of the abyss.

But Maddie knew that Phantom's eyes were not on the incredible view. His electric eyes were focused on a small figure that was lying prone at the other end of the pier. Maddie blinked, surprised by the familiar-looking girl. "Sam," Phantom whispered, taking a step forwards so that his nose was inches from the barrier. She looked at him, eyes widening as she took in the fear and panic in his voice.

"You ready?" he asked softly, holding out his hand to her.

Maddie hesitated. _It's the ghost's fault she's in there, why should I risk my life…_ she shook her head sharply, annoyed at her own thoughts. _That's selfish and bitter. Of course I'm going to help save Sam. I'm not going to let her die just because I don't like Phantom._

Phantom's eyes were wide with disbelief however. He took a step away from the barrier, his hand dropping back to his side. _He saw me shake my head. _"Of course," she said quickly, reaching out and grabbing his hand. "Let's go."

The ghost smiled shakily. Maddie stepped up next to him, staring into the soft swirling and sparking energy of the barrier. "Remember," Phantom whispered. "Whatever you see, don't give in. Don't move. Don't do _anything_."

"What will I see?"

His cold fingers tightened around hers. "I don't know," he replied quietly. "Sam never told me what she saw last time we went through."

"You don't know what your own fear is?" _That doesn't sound right. _

"I have so many fears," he smiled, "I don't know for sure which is my greatest fear."

Maddie nodded absently. "Let's go," she stated and took one step forwards into the barrier. It flickered and sparkled around her with an intense green energy. After a moment, she raised her free hand and slowly raked her fingers through the dense firefly-like energy flares. They swirled between her fingers and danced around her head. She smiled. _It's pretty._

Turning her head, she glanced over at Phantom. He was staring at the flares in terror, his face whiter than normal. He flicked a glance in her direction and smiled slightly. "Ready?" he mouthed.

One of the flickers of energy spun through the air and landed lightly on her nose. It tickled her nose for a moment, suddenly growing larger and brighter. In a heartbeat the small light had completely enveloped the huntress in its almost-white light. Then came the pain.

A scream ripped out of her throat. Her whole body shrieked, every molecule feeling like it was being torn in different directions. Suddenly, the light and pain were gone. Blackness met her slowly opening eyes.

She breathed quickly, glancing around in the darkness. Abruptly, Danny appeared before her, small and fragile, barely three years old. "Mommy!" Danny laughed, holding up his arms. His large, blue eyes sparkled in the emptiness.

_We need to switch_, Phantom's fear-filled voice echoed in her mind. _Before we give in._

Maddie looked down at her child once more, and then closed her eyes. _Whatever was going to happen, I do not want to see_. Her little baby called her name once more before the white pain once again slammed into her body. For an instant, her shoulder wrenched painfully and the world spun around her. The pain stopped as quickly as it started and she collapsed to her knees, gasping, one hand coming up to cradle her throbbing arm.

Almost against her will, her eyes opened. Toddler Danny was gone. Into the darkness she peered, her eyes straining for a glimpse of Phantom's worst fears. Her breath caught in her throat as she wondered at the horrible things a ghost's mind would be able to concoct.

A green blast of ectoenergy blew past her ear, hissing in the black air. Maddie spun, her eyes widening as she caught a flash of black hair and checkered skirt. The sharp flare of green energy took Sam straight in the back.

"Sam!" a boy yelled. Then Danny was there, appearing out of the darkness, racing to the girl's side. He picked her up in his arms, blood leaking all over his clothes, his fingers running over her neck as he desperately felt for a heartbeat.

_Why is this Phantom's worst fear?_ Maddie's analytical mind questioned as she took a few staggering steps forwards. Almost overriding that thought was the desire to run to her child's side. _It's just a fear. It's a nightmare. Don't give in…_ Still, tears trickled down her cheeks as she stared at the sight of her son screaming into the night.

"No!" he cried, hugging the body of his best friend to him. He hunched over her, stroking her hair. "Sam… don't leave me…"

"Did you think she'd ever love a freak like you?" a cruel voice echoed from behind Maddie. She twisted on her heel, her eyes ripping away from her son to stare up into the sky. Floating there was a ghost – a twisted, older image of Phantom. His hair flamed, his red eyes flared with manic delight, and his cape fluttered in an imaginary breeze. "Really, I did you a favor, getting rid of her like that. Now you are more like me than ever."

"I agree," another voice cut in. Maddie jerked towards that voice, stumbling backwards a step when the vampire-like Wisconsin ghost stepped out of the black. "You should be relieved to be rid of that bit of trash. Now you can join me as you always should have, son."

The two ghosts flew a bit closer to her son, who was sitting perfectly still, his eyes closed. "You…" Danny's voice was chocked. "You…"

He looked up, his normally blue eyes flaring to a spectral green. Maddie gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "You…" he whispered again. "I'm…" Danny glanced back down at Sam's bloody body, then back up at the ghosts, tears trickling down his face. His green eyes blurred to a bloody red. "I'm going to kill you." Maddie shivered at the sudden influx of pure malice into his voice.

He rose to his feet, letting Sam drop forgotten to the ground. Two rings of light appeared around his waist, separating and leaving Phantom behind. Not the self-assured, green-eyed Phantom that she had seen in Walker's cell; this one was a twisted, malignant form with glowing red eyes and flaming hair. When he spoke, cold malevolence dripped from his every word. "You will pay for what you did."

The boy moved, throwing himself off the black, unseen ground. Phantom grabbed a hold of the Wisconsin ghost and abruptly tore the specter in half. Maddie flinched away from the gobs of flying ectoplasm. She closed her eyes in terrified confusion as Phantom flew towards the older version of himself. Her hands came up to unconsciously cover her ears as the sounds of the one-sided fight echoed in the blackness around her.

When she couldn't hear anything more, she cautiously opened her eyes. She watched in amazement as Danny dropped back to the ground, his bloody eyes glistening with glee as the splattered remains of the ghosts disintegrated around him. He laughed.

Slowly, he knelt down and touched Sam's cold body. "They will pay, Sam," he hissed, his eyes flaring red once more. "I will make them all pay." All around them, the darkness suddenly vanished. Amity Park appeared, glittering in the morning sunlight. "Each and every one of them," he finished.

And with a delightfully slow pace, Danny Phantom tore the town to shreds.

"No…" Maddie whispered, still frozen in place. All around her, Amity Park fell to pieces. People fled into her line of sight, only to be shot down by obsessed red light. Blood splattered everything, forming a macabre painting around the discarded body of Danny's best friend.

"No…" she said again, barely audible above the screams and shouts of the dying. Jazz blew into her vision, eyes wide and terrified. Phantom blazed towards her, both blood-stained hands reaching out to tear his sister's body to pieces…

Then it was all gone.

Maddie dropped to the ground, tears dripping onto the wooden pier. Gasping for breath between the violent sobs that were shaking her body, she shut her eyes. Blood danced in her vision.

"It's over," Phantom whispered. She jerked upwards, her panicked eyes taking in the young ghost's form. Phantom was curled into a little ball, his hands pressed into the sides of his head. "We made it." He seemed to be saying it to reassure himself, almost like a prayer. Maddie watched as a pearlescent tear trickled down his cheek and splattered on the wood. "It's done."

He looked up at her, his normally sparkling, green eyes dull and full of pain. Maddie stared at him. She could not reconcile the malicious, blood-thirsty ghost of that… nightmare… with the fear-filled boy trembling next to her. And Danny… she pushed the thought of what that might be about out of her head.

Suddenly he looked up. "Sam," he said shortly, thrusting himself to his feet. He stumbled down the length of the slightly heaving dock, green eyes fixed on the still form of the girl at the end.

Maddie swallowed heavily, also rising to her feet. As she made her way towards the lighthouse, Phantom dropped to the girl's side. With a cry, he pulled her into his arms, cradling Sam tightly to him.

For a second, Maddie's heart stopped. A fragment of the nightmare sliced through her mind: Danny hugging the broken body of his friend. Before her, Phantom was curled around Sam in the exact same fashion. _Danny…_

"Sam… no… please…" he whispered as she drew near. He tore off one of his gloves with his teeth, his scarred fingers pressing themselves desperately into her neck. Eyes closed as he focused on trying to find a pulse. "Please…" he begged as another tear worked its way out of his eyes.

Maddie crouched down beside the ghost-boy and held out a hand. Carefully, she touched her fingers to Sam's cheek, dreading the cold, dead feeling she was sure would greet her. Instead, she blinked in surprise. The girl's flesh was warm. "She's alive," Maddie smiled.

Phantom looked at her, neon eyes wide. His arms tightened reflexively around Sam's unconscious form. "Sam," he cried, "thank you…"

Maddie watched the ghost for a moment, marveling at the thoughts that were crashing together in her brain. _Could it be? Is it possible?_

Suddenly Phantom jerked, his whole head twisting to stare up at the lighthouse. The beacon on top was glowing brighter, pulsing with power. Waves of green light crashed against the pier like huge ocean waves. A few sprinkles of cold power splashed against her back as a large wave rolled in. "The tide's coming in," he hissed. "We need to get out."

Without a second thought, Phantom was on his feet, Sam hugged to his chest. He took off up the pier, feet flying against the wooden panels. Maddie followed, not quite as agile on the swaying dock. When he reached the barrier, Phantom stopped and looked back. Frozen in place, he watched Maddie struggling against the ever-more-violently bucking pier.

A wave of dark-green light broke over the wooden planks, dousing Maddie in a flood of frozen energy and trying to throw her off the pier. She shivered, fingers numb, clutching at the harsh floorboards. Her eyes trailed up to meet Phantom's. _Danny's…_ In his eyes, she saw another wave approaching. This one would take her off. She was doomed.

Danny moved, tossing Sam gently through the barrier and on to dry land before throwing himself into the air. In a breath, he was by her side, grabbing onto her arm. Using his momentum, he flung Maddie towards the barrier. She twisted around in midair, watching as Danny tumbled onto the pier. A tingle of cool energy, and she was through. Safe.

Green eyes sparkled as Danny glanced up. He had just enough time to smile at the fact that both of them were safe before the wave of green light rolled over him. It slammed into the pier, the ground shaking with the force its impact.

When the wave receded, Danny was gone.

"No!" Maddie screamed, her voice raw. She threw herself forwards, stopping just short of the fear-inducing barrier. Another wave was pounding towards the pier.

"Please!" she shrieked as she dropped to her knees. "Danny!"

Her voice echoed all over the Ghost Zone.

"Please…"

* * *

_Not my best work... but I'm sick of revising. Give me some ideas and some inspiration so I can get it better. :-) They're called reviews._

_Do not, never have, and will not ever own Danny Phantom._

_Thanks for reading!_

_--Cori_


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